Tuesday, 30 April 2013

World of tanks patch 8.5 T-70 review

Previously when I was talking about the T-60 I mentioned that it lacks a sweetener to make it worth to go that route. I stand corrected - the T-70 (and T-80) is actually decent, even if not a definite keeper.

Heavier than the T-60, the T-70 is non the less more powerful - at 16 hp/per ton, the T-70 is having much easier time with traveling at its top speed of 45 kmph. Small terrain bumps don't stop you dead, even though the ground clearance is still low. Of course its nowhere near the BT-7, but its no slouch by any means. The hull traverse and turret traverse speed are also good. There is no pivot turning, but the radius is very small anyway.

The armour department is where the T-70 shines. 35mm of well sloped UFP means that autoguns do nothing and even bigger calibers have issues. The turret is protected by a 50mm mantlet that sometimes stops shells even from 75mm guns. All in all, that means it has the 2nd best armour of all tier 3 tanks, barring the french AMX. The drivers hatch is in fact even thicker than the rest, instead of being a weak spot, its 50mm of sloped armour. Sides are, only 15mm though, so be careful with howitzers and pz I Cs. While the T-70 performs quite admirably as a panzer I C exterminator (due to the imprevious front and good traverse speed) don't let it get into your head - you are still vulnerable.

Gun department - Why Hello mister 45mm VT 42! Its a a gun that can be found on the T-46, T-50, A20 and T-50-2. Its qualities are already proven. 75mm penetration at tier 3 is quite respectable. Stats are the same as with the T-46 - you get slightly slower RoF though. The gun is fully capable of engaging anything from tier 2 to tier 5, though, mind you - pack some APCR for things like KV-1s. You get 90 shells for it - there is no reason NOT to carry 20-30 APCR. Its not all cozy though. The T-70 has abysmal gun depression - 4 degrees. That makes it very tricky to use in hilly terrain.

All in all, what do we get?

Well...we get a tank that is...balanced. Good, but not great armour, acceptable agility, decent armament. It does not shine...but you will always be relevant in the game, even if its full of tier 5s. Of course its up to you to make it shine.